Amusement park ride

ABSTRACT

An amusement park ride characterised in that it comprises a main platform adapted to be rotatably driven about a vertical axis. A telescopic mast is suspended from the upper portion of said frame structure by means of a horizontal shaft carried by said frame structure with said mast being adapted to be pivoted in a plane perpendicular to said horizontal shaft by a fluid actuated cylinder. An auxiliary platform at the top end of said mast and normally perpendicular thereto is pivoted by a fluid actuated cylinder. Radial cantilever arms are disposed at spaced angular intervals at the upper portion of said auxiliary platform and are adapted tp pivot in radial planes by the actuation of a fluid cylindrical controlled plate. Gondolas or cars are suspended from the outer ends of said radial arms and power drives are provided for controlling at will and independently from one another the rotation of said frame structure with the elements carried thereby, the spreading out or the retraction of the telescopic mast, the swinging of said telescopic mast about the horizontal suspension shaft connecting same to said frame structure, the swinging movements of said radial arms and also of the gondolas carried thereby in radial planes, and the inclination of said auxiliary platform supporting said radial arms in relation to a horizontal plane.

. Elite Fouche' ate t [191 States 1 AMUSEMENT PARK RIDE [76] Inventor:Michel Fouch, Milly,

69350-Gennes, France 221 'Filed: Oct. 18, 1973 21 App1.No.:407,452

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 18, 1972 France 72.36884[52] US. Cl. 272/29, 272/51 [51] Int. Cl A63g 1/38, A63g H44 [58] Fieldof Search 272/29, 36, 38, 44, 7

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,983,509 5/1961 I-Iaug272/36 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,107,883 8/1955 France 272/29 UX1,186,464 2/1959 France 272/36 1,288,494 1/1969 Germany 272/36 863,9543/1961 Great Britain 272/36 611,335 10/1960 Italy 272/36 267,984 4/1950Switzerland 272/36 Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle AssistantExaminer-Arnold W. Kramer [5 7] ABSTRACT An amusement park ridecharacterised in that it comprises a main platform adapted to berotatably driven about a vertical axis. A telescopic mast is suspendedfrom the upper portion of said frame structure by means of a horizontalshaft carried by said frame structure with said mast being adapted to bepivoted in a plane perpendicular to said horizontal shaft by a fluidactuated cylinder. An auxiliary platform at the top end of said mast andnormally perpendicular thereto is pivoted by a fluid actuated cylinder.Radial cantilever arms are disposed at spaced angular intervals at theupper portion of said auxiliary platform and are adapted tp pivot inradial planes by the actuation of a fluid cylindrical controlled plate.Gondolas or cars are suspended from the outer ends of said radialarmsand power drives are provided for controlling at auxiliary platformsupporting said radial arms in relation to a horizontal plane.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENIED BET 81974 v sum 1 ur a PATENTED UB774 sum 5 or a PATENHDUBI am:

SHEET 8 [IF 8 v 1 AMUSEMENT PARK RIDE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Fieldof the Invention This invention relates in general to amusement parkrides and more particularly to rides intended for fun fairs or the like.From the commonest merry-go-round to the highly sophisticated moderninventions in the field, these rides are intended to provide thrill andmore or less violent excitment to vistors of all ages of these funfairs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a ride capable of causing an excitment differring from thatgiven by hitherto known fun fair or like ridesand merry-go-rounds whileaffording a wide range of variation in the thrill and excitment.Moreover, the ride according to this invention is so arranged that itcan be mounted permanently on the front or rear portion of a trailer fortransporting same from one site to another; to this end, the componentelements of the ride are adapted to be folded or collapsed to ahorizontal position, either backwards or forwards, above the rear orfront portion of the trailer, respectively, without requiring anydismantling or teardown except for the gondolas or like cars intendedforreceiving the passengers, with the possibility of transporting thesegondolas or cars on the same trailer. When arriving at the intendedsite, the trailer is wedged, the ride elements are firstly erected to asubstantially vertical position, then brought to their normal operatingposition, the only assembling operation consisting in suspending thegondolas or cars from their supporting or cantilever arms. It is clearthat with a ride according to this invention idle periods are minimizedas well as the crew necessary for erecting, dismantiling andtransporting the ride.

To this end, the fun fair ride according to this invention ischaracterised in that it comprises a main platform, a frame structurecarried by said platform and adapted to be rotatably driven about avertical axis, a

telescopic mast suspended from the upper portion of said framestructureby means of a horizontal shaft carried by said frame structure, saidmast being adapted to be pivoted in a plane perpendicular-to saidhorizontal shaft; an auxiliary platform at the-top end of said mast andnormally perpendicular thereto, radial cantilever arms are disposed atspaced angular intervals at the upper portion of said auxiliary platformand adapted to pivot in radial planes, gondolas or cars suspended fromthe outer ends of said radial arms and power means for controlling atwill and independently from one another the rotation of said framestructure with the elements carried thereby, the spreading out or theretraction of the telescopic mast, the swinging of said telescopic mastabout the horizontal suspension shaft connecting same to said framestructure, the swinging movements of said radial arms and alsoof thegondolas carried thereby in radial planes, and the inclination of saidauxiliary platform supporting said radial arms in relation to ahorizontal plane.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showingdiagrammat-. ically the trailer-supported ride structure with the ra-.dial cantilever arms inclined downwards and the gondolas carried therebyin their lower position;

FIG. 2 is a similar view with the radial arms raised to the horizontal;

FIG. 3 is a plane view from above of the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view showing the ride with the telescopicmast inclined to the vertical;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 4 showing the ride with thetelescopic mast in its extended condition;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The main platform 1 supportingthe complete ride structure is adapted to pivot about a horizontal transverse shaft 2 carried by the rear portion 3 of 'a trailer 4 of suitabledesign, rolling on the wheels 5, 6 of a pair of rear axles and on thewheels 7 of a front steering axle; a fluid-actuaded cylinder 8 isprovided for pivoting the main platform 1 about the horizontaltransverse shaft 2. f

Mounted on this main platform 1 is a plate 9 adapted to rotate about thevertical axis of the platform. this plate 9 being rigid with a toothedring 10 meshing .with a pinion 11 adapted to be rotatably driven fromsuitable power means 12. i

The plate 9 carries a frame structure 13 having subupper telescopicsection 17 of the pivoting mast 14..

Also pivotally mounted about a horizontal transverse shaft 18 carried bythe upper portion of the upper telescopic section 17 of mast 14 is anauxiliary platform 19 adapted to be inclined by means ofa'fluid-actuated cylinder 20 about said shaft 18.

A toothed wheel 21 is pivotally mounted about a central shaftperpendicular to said auxiliary platform 19 and carried by this shaft,as shown; said wheel 21 is in constant meshing engagement with a drivepinion 22 operatively connected to suitable power means 23.

Radial cantilever arms 25 carrying at their outer ends gondolas or cars26 for the passengers are rotatably rigid with said toothed wheel 21 butadapted to pivot vertically in relation thereto by means of pivot shafts24 parallel to the plane of said wheel 21; a set of fluidactuatedcylinders 27 co-acting with a sliding plate 28 and rollers 29 carried bythe inner ends of said radial arms 25 are provided for controlling thedownward inclination or tilt of said radial arms 25, or their return Ito the horizontal position.

more, hydraulic means 34 are provided for locking the cranked levers 30in radial planes, and hydraulic shockabsorbers 35 are also provided forlimiting the radial swinging movements of the links 32 and therefore ofthe gondolas 26.

The inclination of the telescopic mast 14 may be controlled by means ofanother fluid-operated cylinder 36, and a counterweight 37 is forbalancing the assembly.

To transport the ride according to this invention from one site toanother, the only step required consists in removing the gondolas 26;then, the radial cantilever arms 25 are folded about the telescopic mastl4 and, as shown in FIG. 7, the cylinder 8 is operated for pivoting themain platform 1 about the horizontal transverse shaft 2 until it issubstantially parallel to the main plane of trailer 4; the gondolas 26can easily be stored on the rear portion 3 of this trailer, behind saidmain platform 1.

When the trailer and the ride carried thereby have reached the intendedsite for the ride operation, the reverse manoeuver is performed forerecting the telescopic mast l4 and bring its various component elementsto the position shown in FIG. I; then, the radial cantilever arms 25 canbe locked in a plane perpendicular to that containing the telescopicmast 14, as shown in FIG. 2; during the ride operation the mast can beinclined to a certain extent, as shown in FIG. 4, and also extended asshown in FIG. 5; the auxiliary platform 19 may also be inclined as shownin FIG. 6.

By combining ,all these possible inclinations of the telescopic mast,radial arms and auxiliary platform with the permissible rotationalmovements of the frame structure and auxiliary platform, which may takeplace at different speeds and in the same or opposite directions, itwill readily, occur to those conversant with the art that a wide rangeof thrill and excitment can be obtained for the passengers of thegondolas 26, thus making the ride particularly attractive.

A modification may be brought to the means controlling the tilting orinclination of the main platform 1 by pivoting the cylinder 38 on oneside to a pivot pin 39 of the trailer 4 and on the other side to a strut40 extending under the platform in a plane at right angles thereto, andproviding another cylinder 41 pivoted at one end to a pivot pin 42carried by the rear portion 3 of the trailer and'at the opposite end toa link 43 mounted to the pivot pin 2 of said platform. This assembly hasa greater strength and the second cylinder 41 acts as a shock absorber(see FIGS. 8 and 9).

Although the present invention has been described with reference to aspecific form of embodiment and a specific modification brought thereto,it will readily occur to those conversant with the art that manymodifications and changes may be brought to these struc tures withoutdeparting from the basic principles of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Amusement park ride comprising collapsible elements mounted on atrailer, said elements consisting of a main platform a vertical shaftextending centrally of said platform, a lower plate carried by saidshaft, a toothed wheel rigid with said lower plate, power means fordriving said toothed wheel, a substantially inverted- V shaped framestructure carried by said plate, a horizontal shaft carried by the upperportion of said frame structure, a telescopic mast normally verticallysuspended from said horizontal shaft, means controlling the extension orretraction of the upper telescopic section thereof, an offset horizontalpivot pin carried by the top of said telescopic section, another, upperauxiliary platform pivotally mounted to said horizontal pivot pin meansfor controlling the inclination of said auxiliary platform in relationto said mast, a toothed ring carried by said upper auxiliary platform,power means for rotating said toothed ring, a normally vertical centralshaft secured to said upper auxiliary platform, another plate slidablymounted to said vertical central shaft, vertical fluid actuatedcylinders adapted to actuate said other plate toward and away from saidupper auxiliary platform, a plurality of radial cantilever armsprovidedwith gondolas suspended from their outer ends and pivoted neartheir inner ends to pivot pins carried by said upper auxiliary platform,and rollers rotatably mounted to the inner ends of said radialcantilever arms between said upper auxiliary platform and said otherplate whereby actuation of said other plate controls the inclination ofsaid radial arms, and said main platform piv-' oted to said trailer witha fluid-actuated cylinder for pivoting said main platform from ahorizontal position supporting the frame structure in an uprightposition for use of the ride and to a vertical position for storage ofthe ride horizontally on said trailer.

2. Ride as set forth in claim 1, wherein another fluidacutated cylinderis pivoted at one end to the trailer and at the opposite end to a strutrigid with said lower plate to aid said main platform pivotingcyclinder,

3. Ride as set forth in claim 1, wherein said gondolas are suspendedfrom said radial cantilever arms by means of cranked levers fulcrumed topivot pins in axial alignment with said radial arms, and links pivotedto other pivot pins perpendicular to said pins.

4. Ride as set forth in claim 3, wherein hydraulic means are providedfor locking said gondolassupporting cranked levers.

5. Ride as set forth in claim 3, wherein means are provided for dampingout the oscillations of said gondola-supporting links.

6. Ride as set forth in claim 1, wherein fluid actuated means controlsthe tilt of said mast with respect to said lower plate.

1. Amusement park ride comprising collapsible elements mounted on atrailer, said elements consisting of a main platform a vertical shaftextending centrally of said platform, a lower plate carried by saidshaft, a toothed wheel rigid with said lower plate, power means fordriving said toothed wheel, a substantially inverted-V shaped framestructure carried by said plate, a horizontal shaft carried by the upperportion of said frame structure, a telescopic mast normally verticallysuspended from said horizontal shaft, means controlling the extension orretraction of the upper telescopic section thereof, an offset horizontalpivot pin carried by the top of said telescopic section, another, upperauxiliary platform pivotally mounted to said horizontal pivOt pin meansfor controlling the inclination of said auxiliary platform in relationto said mast, a toothed ring carried by said upper auxiliary platform,power means for rotating said toothed ring, a normally vertical centralshaft secured to said upper auxiliary platform, another plate slidablymounted to said vertical central shaft, vertical fluid actuatedcylinders adapted to actuate said other plate toward and away from saidupper auxiliary platform, a plurality of radial cantilever arms providedwith gondolas suspended from their outer ends and pivoted near theirinner ends to pivot pins carried by said upper auxiliary platform, androllers rotatably mounted to the inner ends of said radial cantileverarms between said upper auxiliary platform and said other plate wherebyactuation of said other plate controls the inclination of said radialarms, and said main platform pivoted to said trailer with afluid-actuated cylinder for pivoting said main platform from ahorizontal position supporting the frame structure in an uprightposition for use of the ride and to a vertical position for storage ofthe ride horizontally on said trailer.
 2. Ride as set forth in claim 1,wherein another fluid-acutated cylinder is pivoted at one end to thetrailer and at the opposite end to a strut rigid with said lower plateto aid said main platform pivoting cyclinder.
 3. Ride as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said gondolas are suspended from said radial cantileverarms by means of cranked levers fulcrumed to pivot pins in axialalignment with said radial arms, and links pivoted to other pivot pinsperpendicular to said pins.
 4. Ride as set forth in claim 3, whereinhydraulic means are provided for locking said gondolas-supportingcranked levers.
 5. Ride as set forth in claim 3, wherein means areprovided for damping out the oscillations of said gondola-supportinglinks.
 6. Ride as set forth in claim 1, wherein fluid actuated meanscontrols the tilt of said mast with respect to said lower plate.